This invention relates to a VTOL airplane. It pertains in particular to such an airplane having a plurality of steam powered tiltable propulsion units which are supplied high pressure working fluid from common combustion centers.
The use of tilting engines is known in VTOL airplane art. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 3,089,666 teaches the concept of utilizing a plurality of tilting engines. However, the prior art airplanes of this class use conventional internal combustion engines. The use of existing engines in this manner requires large support and actuation mechanisms which are expensive to fabricate, complex in operation and add considerably to the weight of the airplane.
In a second class of VTOL airplanes only the propellers or rotors are rotated while the engine remains fixed. This requires the use of a flexible connector between the engine and rotor which will accommodate the angular change therebetween. Connectors of this type are undependable and prone to failure.
In a third class of VTOL airplanes the engines are mounted on the forward edge of the wing and the entire wing is tipped to a vertical position for takeoff. Again this requires complex mechanisms which add to the cost and reduce the reliability of the airplane. Also, aerodynamic control is sacrificed during the transition between forward and hover flight.